


Staring

by orphan_account



Series: SonnY-bOy [2]
Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, But not Swifty, CULT IN A DUMB SONIC SHOW, Dave is underrated imo, F/F, F/M, I believe the Lightning Bolt Society is underrated, I dislike Sonic Boom but some things in it are great, Like, M/M, Meh Burger is great, Sonic Boom - Freeform, The Author Regrets Everything, by gays for gays, he's not great
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:15:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "You're staring again, hun." Rouge stated the obvious, rolling her eyes as she waved her hand in front of her friend's eyes, which had been trained on a certain hedgehog only a couple tables away.-----"Me? Oh, I'm just an admirer from afar. I saw this handsome young Echidna while eating with my business partner, and i couldn't help but come say hello," She said with a welcoming smile, sipping her soda nonchalantly.-------"Yes Commander, I have a full notebook of the Ancient Echidnas' language. Thanks to the guardian, of course." Sonic glared at the bat from the back of her head. What was she talking about? 'Commander?'
Relationships: Amy Rose/Rouge the Bat (One Sided), Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Series: SonnY-bOy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741825
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	1. Meeting

"You're staring again, hon." Rouge stated the obvious, rolling her eyes as she waved her hand in front of her friend's eyes, which had been trained on a certain hedgehog only a couple tables away.

Shadow snarled, looking down at the table he was sitting at. "I don't know what you're talking about, bat." He spat, crossing his arms. She narrowed her eyes. "Listen sugar, just because we've only recently met doesn't mean you need to be so cruel." She smiled with a snarky head-tilt, lifting her soda to her lips. He rolled his eyes, a rock on the floor suddenly very interesting.

"The way in which we met was purely random-" "You mean it was a whiff of serendipity for the both of us?" She cut in with a small but smug smile, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Serendipity?" He scowled. "How was I supposed to know I'd just run into you _stealing_ shit from my cave, in which I _do_ call home." He said with an agitated tone. Rouge smiled innocently. "A GUN agen- I mean treasure hunter and an edgy social outcast with a crush on their enemy? The partnership was meant to be, Shadow. You just need to get used to having a friend."

He rolled his eyes. "Crush? On someone with such _shoddy craftmanshi-_ " "Ugh, we get it, hon, you like a guy who can make tables for you so you can fuck him on it." She smirked to herself as his mouth hung open, expression enraged.

Before he could say anything, Rouge stood, picking up her drink. "Well, while you get mad over a joke, I'm going to go over and say hi to big red over there." She adjusted the short skirt she wore, which matched the big heart on her torso. She strut away, leaving a growling Shadow behind.

"Well, hello there, red." She greeted, hand on her hip. The red Echidna turned to look at her, muzzle turning a slight shade darker. "Uh, hi!" He greeted, smiling awkwardly. "Uhm, who are you?" The blue hedgehog across from him asked, wearing a bandanna and the same sports tape as the red echidna. Oh! That was Shadow's crush! Sonic, was his name?

"Me? Oh, I'm just an admirer from afar. I saw this handsome young Echidna while eating with my business partner, and i couldn't help but come say hello," She said with a welcoming smile, sipping her soda nonchalantly.

"Oh! Well, you seem friendly enough! Please feel welcome to join us." A pink hedgehog wearing a red dress said cheerily, two seats away from Sonic.

"Uh, Amy? Are you su-" "Oh, thank you, hon!" She pulled a chair over from another table, pulling it up to the edge of the table next to the Echidna, successfully cutting Tails off.

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he watched them all. They easily let Rouge sit with them and are already engaging in friendly conversation with her. He was jealous.

Wait, _no_ he _wasn't._

"Woah, really? You treasure hunt?" The young kit with the toolbelt and goggles, who she came to know as Tails, said with interest. She nodded slowly.

"What kinda treasures do 'ya hunt?" The crazy badger-Sticks-asked her, tilting her head. She sat beside Knuckles, across from Tails. "Any alien type 'a stuff?"

Rouge thought for a moment. Should she go into that territory?

"Well, if you count Black Doom and the Black Arms as aliens, then, well." She said it with a humorous tone to her voice, as if it were obvious.

Everyone in front of her stared, dumbfounded.

"Have you guys ever been off Mobius? Off of this island?" She asked with a curious tone, tilting her head and sipping her soda.

Knuckles nodded. "I have! Angel Island!" He exclaimed, smiling. Rouge snapped her attention to him.

She was suddenly even more interested. She should probably return to Shadow before things got to out of hand with her curiosity, this mission wasn't about-

"Woah, Angel Island? As in, _Master Emerald_ Angel Island? Where the Ancient Echidna Tribe stayed?" She asked in surprise. He nodded. "I used to live there, but now that Vector guy and his bee and chameleon buddies watch over it in a secret facility!" Sonic nodded along with what he was saying, but shook his head at the end. "Not _you,_ Chameleon." He said in annoyance, waving off a wolf in a tree costume, who sighed and walked off. Rouge blinked.

"Anyway Rouge, who is this 'business partner' of yours?" Sonic asked, plate of chilly dogs empty. Rouge hesitated. "Well..."

"Rouge, I request that we leave now." Shadow said, walking toward the table with an absent-minded expression. Sonic narrowed his eyes, while everyone else gasped. Besides Knuckles, who simply smiled and waved to the dark hedgehog. " _Shadow_ is your business partner?!" Amy screeched, jumping out of her seat and grabbing a large piko piko hammer out of thin air." Tails glared. "Get out of here Shadow." He said, pointing accusingly.

"Aaa! She was an alien the whole time!" Sticks screamed, jumping on the table and pulling out her boomerang. Sonic shook his head with a sigh.

"Wait, why don't we like Shadow again?" Knuckles asked, scratching his head in confusion. "He nearly killed Sonic!" Amy screamed, ready to pounce. Sonic muttered, 'Well, I wouldn't say he nearly killed me, but.'

"Guys, guys, hear me out. We met on complete accident. We're just friends, I'd never hurt you. Didn't I tell you I was attracted to Knuckles here?" She said with a troubled tone, patting Knuckle's shoulder as she said his name.

"Wait.. So, you two didn't just come to Meh Burger together to fight us? Shadow didn't try to start to put together a team or anything?" Sonic asked, hands on his hips. Shadow was staring at him again, leading Rouge to nudge him in the gut with her elbow. He blinked and looked to the ground in embarrassment. 

"Of course not hun. I had a lot of fun with you all!" She announced, setting her empty soda bottle on the table and pulling a paper and pen out of one of her boots. She quickly scribbled something down on it, and set the paper in front of him, quickly kissing Knuckles on the cheek before kissing her hand and waving to the whole group, flying off. Shadow was caught up in staring at the blue hero again, but recovered as soon as he noticed the other's confused stare trained on him. He dashed after the bat.


	2. Dating

Rouge groaned in annoyance, slumping in the loveseat in which she sat. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Come _on_ hon, me and Knuckles have been texting each other for like, a _whole_ week, and I haven't dated someone in like _one_ whole month! You need to help me set up the date!" She sighed helplessly.

Shadow's back pressed against the cold wall he leant against, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Why not ask that Amy girl? She seems basic enough."

Rouge narrowed her eyes. "Ugh, whatever sugar. Hey.. Maybe if you help me, I'll get you some intel on Sonic.." She sang out, shifting to lay on the fluffy chair upside-down, head brushing against the floor of the cave. Shadow's eyes widened, confused. "What are you talking about? 'Intel?'" 

The bat smirked, giggling a bit. "You know, sexuality, relationship status, blah blah blah. Come _on_ sugar, I need help with my date!" She threw her arm across her forehead in a helpless look.

Shadow froze, went silent. He looked deep in thought, before his muzzle visibly darkened.

"Fine." He responded. "I'll help you with your date in return for 'intel' on Sonic." He huffed as Rouge lit up with a happy gasp. "Oh, thank you, Shadow! Well, I have a mission right about now. Make sure you have the date set up at round 8 a.m. tomorrow!" She said, hugging him and flying out of the save before he could respond. Wait, what even was GUN-

_Wait._

_That_ early tomorrow?

He scrambled to sit down on the loveseat, grabbing his laptop and opening it, cheeks momentarily flushing at the photo he had for his background- a picture of Sonic throwing finger guns he found over the internet -and quickly opened his web browser. He searched up _Date ideas/advice._

Surprisingly, he immediately had several posts and videos that Amy Rose had uploaded about dating and love.

With a sigh, he clicked on the first video.

_This would take a while._

"Hey Knux, Tails get you that phone yet?" the blue hedgehog asked, inviting himself into Knuckle's empty little home. Except he wasn't there.

Sonic raised a brow.

"Knux?" He would yell, not too loud but not too quiet, as he dashed around the town.

_Where was Knuckles?_

He reluctantly walked up to either Staci or Perci- he couldn't tell- and tapped her on the shoulder. by the sudden hyper head jolt he immediately knew this was Staci.

"Hey, Sonic." She greeted with a smile. She was the younger of the twins, and was way more hyper and lively than Perci.

"Hey, Stace. 'You seen Knuckles?" he asked, hands in relaxed fists rested on his hips.

Staci seemed to scrunch up her face in disgust and shook her head. "I _never_ see that flea-infested freak!" She said with a huff, turning her head away. Sonic raised a 'brow.'

"He doesn't have fleas. Anyway, thanks, I guess. Bye." He dashed away.

"Wait!" She called out after him, arm extended. "He doesn't?!"

He sighed and walked up to the door of Sticks' burrow. Maybe she would know? Sometimes they'd go on 'alien hunts' together. Sonic always assumed Knuckles only went because Sticks was the only other person to know the Ancient Echidna language besides himself and Sonic. Or maybe it was just because he wasn't the brightest and believed everything Sticks told him.

He yelped as he was hanging upside down not a minute later, Of course she set up more traps.

He saw Sticks creeping behind a tree, ready to attack. His eyes widened, remembering the scar he had under about two layers of sports tape from the last time she thought he was bigfoot.

"Sticks! It's just me!" He screamed in urgency, thrashing against the rope he was tied up into.

Sticks ran up to him on all fours, boomerang in hand. She was glaring. "How do I know you're not Metal Sonic?!" She asked, baring her teeth in a snarl. He flinched.

Sticks seemed to need no more confirmation at that, because Metal Sonic never flinches. She brought out a knife and cut him down in one swift motion. Sonic fell.

"Anyway, wadda'ya want? I got peoples over right now." Sticks stated, helping Sonic up. He brushed himself off. "People? Who?" He wondered aloud, placing a hand on his hip.

Sticks crossed her arms. "Rouge and Knuckles. We're teachin' her how to speak in the Ancient Echidnian Language." She said, turning back to walk into the house. Sonic caught her arm.

"Don't you think that.. It's a little bit dangerous to just be sharing that with her? We just met her not even a weak ago." He whispered, his expression one of concern.

Sticks waved him off, pulling her arm out of his grip. "Nah. It's just Knuckle's hanging out with his girl. Speakin' of which, why don't you have one?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "What are you _talkin'_ about? That has _nothing_ to do with this." Sticks tilted her head at him. " _You're_ talkin' about bein' _mad_ and _lonely_ that Knuckles has someone 'cuz you don't!" She almost yelled, crossing her arms. Sonic looked shocked for a moment, before glaring. "That's not true! Jeez, what's _with_ you right now?" He huffed and looked to the side angrily.

Sticks sighed, grasping his shoulder. "Sonic, we all noticed you seem, eh, paranoid whenever one of us gets someone. Like you're scared that you'll lose us? Especially with Tails and Knuckles." She said, probably making the most sense she ever has.

Sonic growled, stepping away. "I do _not!_ Ugh, I'm going home." He muttered, walking away. She sighed and turned to her burrow.

"Oh, hey sugar, I was just telling Knuckles bye." Sonic heard a voice talking to Sticks. It was Rouge. he dashed behind a few bushes.

"Oh, well, see 'ya Rouge!" Sticks said, walking into her burrow. The bat smirked in a mischievous way, seemingly not noticing Sonic hiding off to the side as she slowly walked away from the burrow and up the path. She took out a walkie-talkie.

"Hello, Commander?" She said into it, voice professional. Sonic narrowed his eyes in confusion. _"Agent Rouge, good to hear from you. Did you fulfill your mission?"_ A man's voice came from the device. Sonic didn't recognize it. "Yes Commander, I have a full notebook of the Ancient Echidnas' language. Thanks to the guardian, of course." Sonic glared at the bat from the back of her head. What was she talking about? Should he ask Shadow?

No, he didn't need Shadow's help.

He kinda wanted it, though.

_"How did you know about that, Agent Rouge?"_ The voice asked. Rouge sighed. "It's common knowledge in old books about the Emerald that this Knuckles _used_ to be the guardian. How did you not expect me to know that?" When she was finally out of earshot, Sonic relaxed, slumping against a tree and taking that all in.

_'Agent'_ Rouge? Knuckles being the master of anything _besides_ weight-lifting?

He grabbed his bandanna and rubbed it for comfort. He was confused.

Should he confront her? No, no, he'd find out what was going o-

"Hey, big blue."

Damn.

He looked over toward the voice of the bat, who was smiling sweetly, welcomingly.

"Oh, heya Rouge! What's up?" He asked, anxiously smiling back and crossing his arms.

The girl shrugged, walking toward him and stopping in front of him. "I have a few questions for you." She stated, a hand on her hip. He nodded, curious.

Rouge thought about how she could get honest answers out of the cobalt. Really, she was great at reading people and Mobians alike, but the Mobians here were unpredictable.

Well, she made a deal with Shadow. She needed to keep her word.

"You can be honest with me, hon," she began slowly, shifting her expression to a small, calm smile, "I'm bi myself." She lied. She knew better than to lie about such a thing, but she wanted honest answers. She wanted to see her ship sail. She knew people were more likely to be honest with people they could possibly connect with. "What's your orientation?" She finally asked, holding her hands in front of her in an innocent-looking way. Well, innocent enough for someone who dresses like her.

Sonic seemed suddenly put on edge.

"Why?" He asked, rubbing his arm. He was anxious, and very nervous, she noted.

"I might know a little birdie who likes you." She sang out, hands on her hips once again. The hero's ear twitched, he was listening now. Just like she thought.

"Who?" He asked, almost sounding surprised. It shouldn't be a surprise, she's seen and heard enough evidence of him being a girl-magnet.

Though she's never heard of him really dating.

"Hun, I can't tell you. They might eventually though." She said with a wide smile.

Sonic looked to the side. His anxiety seemed to worsen. She internally cursed.

"Hun? C'mon, I've been with my fair share of girls, guys, non-binary folks," she began, tilting her head, "you can be honest. I won't judge; and I can assure you that they won't tell anyone or judge." He seemed to ever so slightly relax.

"I'm... If you tell a single soul you will never be welcome on this island again." He said, glaring uneasily. There it was, she broke through the protective layer. She was close to finding out.

She often started out with the harder questions.

"I swear on Shadow's life." She said, earning a chuckle. "Okay, okay.. Well, I'm.. This is kinda hard for me. Sorry." He said with a quiet chuckle.

Rouge spoke sympathetically, expression welcoming and honest. "It's okay, it was always hard telling people of my sexuality too." She said calmly, reaching out to hold his hands in a comforting manner. The cobalt seemed to completely rid of the odd suspicion he seemed to be holding. She'd have to find out what _that_ was about, too.

"I'm pan." He said, breathing out slowly. "I've never told anyone, not one person. Besides you." She searched his face and scanned his body language, finding no signs of lying from the sports tape wearing hero. She smiled widely. "That's really cool." She said, nodding to him. "Also, are you seeing anyone? What kind of dates do you like? Perhaps I could set you two up to a blind date sometime? And don't worry, I now pink likes you, it would be a secret." She said, hoping that wasn't too much at once.

Sonic seemed to be thinking deeply about this.

Sonic was thinking deeply about this.

He hadn't noticed how easy he had been swayed from suspicious to honest.

What were the odds it was someone who he'd already rejected? And how did Rouge know anyone else on this island? Well, she did seem like a social butterfly. Huh, butterflies. He liked the black and red ones that would fly in through his window. They looked like Shadow. He liked S-

Wait, he was getting off track.

"I'm single." He stated, speaking slowly. Rouge nodded with a satisfied-looking smile. "And I don't really care what kinda date, just not the kind that are all too fancy or too much the opposite. Like, in the middle?" Rouge nodded, "Understandable."

"And.. I guess I'd be up for a blind date. Maybe in a few weeks? Get back to me with the details when you can, I guess. I haven't really dated anyone. The only quote-on-quote 'dates' I've been on are where some lady forced me to hang out with them."

Rouge giggled, arms crossed loosely. "That's alright. I hope you know that if someone is forcing you to, you probably shouldn't continue to hang out with them. Maybe drop them?" She smiled a bit. He nodded slowly.

"Anyway, I will return with the details of the blind date.. Well, I mean, I might. It depends on how things play out. I'll see you later, doll." She smirked and turned, flying away.

Sonic blinked, rethinking about what just happened.

_A day passed._

Shadow busily strung up red heart-shaped streamers around the small area, extremely focused on the task at hand.

After watching multiple of Amy's videos, he decided a picnic would be good enough for Rouge and Knuckles.

He didn't know what Rouge would deem acceptable, but he tried.

He found a beautiful scene by a stream in the forest. The trees were a beautiful light green, and the open area there had enough room for a big blanket. He chose a white one with red polka-dots. For food he went to Meh Burger and bought two burgers, smoothies, and multiple side dishes.

He wondered if he could ever take Sonic here.

It was 7:56.

He smiled at his work. He actually felt proud of himself.

He saw at the edge of the stream, dipping his skates into the water. He smiled to himself. This was nice.

Well, it was nice for approximately 40 seconds before he heard footsteps and a whistle behind him.

But it didn't get worse.

"Well, hot-shot, who's the lucky lady?" A chuckle. He turned around to see Sonic standing on the other side of the area. His smile looked strained. Fake.

He scowled, though he wa excited to see the cobalt. His heart was racing.

"What do you want?" He growled out. The blue blur walked over to him, sitting next to him and kicking his legs. "Just runnin' around, and I smelled a faker." He smirked, scooting slightly closer to Shadow. The dark hedgehog tried not to flinch when feeling his shoulder brush against the others.

"Why are you being kind to me?" Shadow asked somewhat quietly, looking to the side so the other wouldn't see his blush. Sonic shrugged, his arm rubbing against Shadow's, and looked to the sky. "Why do you have a romantic picnic set up?" The other's voice sounded somewhat bitter.

Shadow turned to him. "Why does that matter? Jealous?" He asked, smirking. _As if he'd be jealous if I got a boyfriend._

Sonic huffed. "No way! I'm just.. curious." Sonic got quiet toward the end.He was still staring into the sky.

This was weird, but Shadow liked it. It was the first real conversation he's had with the blue blur.

"For your information, it's for Rouge and Knuckles. Rouge made me do it." He sighed, looking into the water and swishing his legs around in it.

Sonic slowly settled his own legs into the stream, tilting his head. Goddammit, they were too close. Sonic's quills were touching Shadow's. He swore the hero must be able to hear his heart beat somehow.

"Oh, that's actually nice of you, Edgelord." Sonic chuckled a bit, kicking Shadow's leg in the water. The Ultimate Lifeform scoffed. "Me? Nice? Never. We had a deal." Oh shit.

Sonic seemed to freeze up.

"What might that deal be?" He spoke quick, turning to look at Shadow with a hopeful expression, rubbing his bandanna with anxiety. Fuck, did Rouge tell him something? Shadow raised an imaginary brow as if he were confused.

"I needed a new gun." Quickly fell out of his mouth, scowling.

Sonic faltered, but kept smiling.

"Oh. Well, what kinda gun, Edgy the Hedgy?" He asked with a playful smirk, jabbing his gut. Shadow flinched.

"I'm not 'edgy.'" He mumbled, rolling his eyes. Sonic laughed, shaking his head. "But listen to your voice! It's all deep and raspy! Super edgy." The hero kicked his legs in a girly manner.

Shadow sighed quietly. "I can't help what my voice sounds like, you buffoon." He snarled, crossing his arms. "Wait, it's okay! I like raspy voices!" The hero said anxiously, reaching out to grab the other's arm. Shadow felt heat raising to his muzzle and flinched.

"Hey, Shadow? I have a question." Shadow turned to him. "Is Rouge an agen-"

"Well well well, Shadow, I didn't think you could do it." Ah. Rouge.

Shadow turned around, noting Sonic still holding onto his arm. "Hello, Rouge. I hope you enjoy your date with the Echidna." He said calmly, standing up. His arm felt cold when Sonic let go.

Rouge smirked at the two, her gaze somewhat knowing.

"Thank you, sugar. He'll be here anytime soon." She sat down on one side of the blanket, on her knees. "Hey, Rouge." Sonic greeted, waving.

She waved back, when her ear twitched. "Oh, I think you guys better go. Big red is coming." Shadow and Sonic nodded, swiftly exiting the area.

Shadow sat in his cave in his loveseat. He'd been thinking a lot about the blue buffoon.

How old was he? Did he like guys? Was he single? Was he dating that _Amy_ girl? He really wanted to get to know him better.

He knew he wouldn't get answers anytime soon when Rouge stumbled in drunk.


	3. Manipulating

"Rouge! Rouge, wake up before I drop kick your damn ass out of here!"

He heard a groan coming from the woman, who no doubt had a hangover. He was confused as to how she was even _able_ to obtain alcohol on this island, mostly because everybody here seemed like a teen much like himself.

Rouge sat up slowly, sinking back into the loveseat. She sighed, rubbing her head. "Yeah yeah, Shadow, we know you love to abuse your position as like, the only character who can cuss." She shifted and closed her eyes. Shadow rolled his eyes, slapping her across the face with a loud _smack!_ Rouge jolted with a yelp, rubbing the side of her muzzle. "Fine! Jesus, what do you want?" She sighed irritably, rubbing her throbbing forehead.

Shadow grumbled. "I want to know what happened with you and Knuckles that caused you to get _drunk._ As far as I've seen, there is rarely _any_ form of alcohol _anywhere_ on this island." He narrowed his eyes. She seemed to momentarily freeze up, any other Mobian might not realize it.

She rolled her eyes at him, standing up slowly and groaning at her forehead in pain. "God, that hurts." She changed the subject, strutting past Shadow, who growled quietly. She walked over to the small stream of water that flowed into a little crook in the ground from a whole in the cave wall, and nealt down to wash some over her face. Shadow sat in the loveseat, waiting for her to be finished trying to sober up.

Rouge eventually stood and leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a light grin. "So, I got news from Big Blue." She mumbled, tilting her head at Shadow. He sat up straight, resting his head in his heads with a sigh. When he didn't respond, the bat took that as an invitation to continue speaking.

"He's pan," She'd began, looking deep in thought in her clouded brain, "and he said hes up for a blind date. I could set up this one for you, I only owe it to you." She said with a smile, before heading to the entrance of the cave. "Where are you going?" He'd asked, trying to ignore the fact that holy heck Sonic's pan!

Rouge only turned toward him with a smile. "I'm off to see Knuckles. Bye!" She waved, before flying off. Shadow was left to think to himself.

The bat girl walked up to the shack with a stride in her step, humming to herself. She smiled when Knuckles peeked out from where his door should be, smiling and waving nervously to the shorter girl. She chuckled and waved back.

"How have you been, love?" She asked, pecking the tall Echidna on the side of his muzzle. Knuckles smile widened and he lifted the girl up. "I've been red. How about you?" Rouge laughed a bit, patting the other' head.

They walked along the beach, or rather, Knuckles did as he carried Rouge.

"I still think you should stop being friends with them."

Knuckles stopped walking. He turned to look at the bat with a frown.

"Listen Knuckie," the bat began, placing a kiss to the side of his muzzle and smirking when that made him smile widely, "they only want to separate us! They don't want us together, Knuckie... They don't think we're made for each other." The Echidna gasped, tilting his head. "Really? Last time you just told me they were wanting to take the Master Emerald from where it's hidde-"

She shut him up with a kiss, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He kissed back happily, shock at what she said gone in a split second.

The bat pulled back, giggling a bit at his dumb smile. "Listen hun, don't tell them we talked about this. This is a conversation for us, okie?" She traced a gloved finger along his shoulder, and he nodded happily.

As they continued to walk along the beach, they eventually came across Amy, Tails, and Sonic tanning. Knuckles didn't think anything of Rouge's evil smirk.

"Hi guys." She called, waving a bit. Amy waved back happily, jumping up and skipping over to them. Knuckles frowned angrily and turned away from Amy, who raised a confused brow.

"Uh, Knux? Why are you bein' a stranger?" Sonic asked as he lowered his sunglasses. Rouge flinched as she remembered the green hedgehog who usually did the same- but then remembered he didn't exist here.

Knuckles let out a low growl, but Rouge pat his head comfortingly. "It's okay Knuckie. Look, I need to talk to them for a minute. Okay hun?" She asked in a sweet tone, placing a hand on the side of his muzzle. His tail wagged up and town and he nodded with a smile. He let her down, and she walked over to stand beside the chairs Sonic and Tails were at, and waved Amy over.

"He thinks you guys want to break us up." She said sorrowfully. Tails only nodded in understanding, before turning back to his gadget. Sonic raised a brow. "Why is that?" He asked someone suspiciously, to which she simply sighed with a small frown. "I tried asking him, and he just went, "uh, because! stop asking!' in a real nervous way. I think maybe someone told him something. I dunno." She rubbed her arm. Amy looked to the sky and thought, before sighing. "He was never the brightest, maybe he thought he heard that. Or maybe he's just jealous we're such good friends!" Amy chirped out, wrapping an arm around the taller woman's. Rouge only smiled a bit and chuckled with a nod. "That we are, Rose."

Sonic resisted an eye roll.

The funny thing is, so did Rouge.

"Want to go shopping later?" Amy asked, seemingly totally forgetting Sonic and Tails were there. Rouge nodded, smile widening only slightly. She couldn't help that her eye twitched in annoyance when Amy folded their hands together and skipped over to tell Knuckles they were shopping.

Sonic was suspicious.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Tails asked, pulling his goggles up and onto his forehead. Sonic looked over to him and smiled a bit.

"No reason, buddy. Go back to workin' on your game console, or whatever."

"It's not a game console! It's a device that we could potentially use against Metal Sonic if Eggman decides to use him as a weapon again!"

Sonic sighed, uninterested in his best friend's invention as usual, and laid back against the chair.

"Oh, Rouge, isn't this dress pretty?"

Amy was so excited! Her number one girlfrien was shopping with her! Sure, there was Zooey, Perci and Staci, but her bond with Rouge just felt so much.. Realer.

Maybe that was it. Maybe she just liked Rouge as a good friend instead of as a crush. Maybe the butterflies in her stomach were just there because she hadn't had so much fun with someone in such a long time.

Yeah, that was probably it.

She felt so bad, so, _so_ bad, because she _knew_ her friend Knuckles was dating Rouge and she _knew_ she shouldn't feel like this toward someone she'd just met, but, she couldn't _help_ it. She hoped Rouge couldn't tell.

She held up a white dress with pink frills, and a belt with pink hearts along the waist line. She hoped Rouge would like it. She thinks it would look really pretty on the bat. She thinks _anything_ would look pretty on the bat.

Rouge smiled, and Amy felt herself smile even wider. Rouge took the dress and held it, looking over it and nodding. "This is really gorgeous. Just like you." She said, turning to look the pink hedgehog in the eye with a side smile. Amy felt her heart racing. Why must she tease her like this?

"Aww, well... I- I mean, I think it would look beautiful on you!" She flirted back. She hoped it was flirting. But she couldn't stop thinking about how she was betraying Knuckles' trust at the moment.

Rouge smirked and chuckled a bit. "I think it would look absolutely stunning on you, Mrs. Rose. In reality, I feel that anything would look pretty on you, since you are oh so beautiful."

Amy felt her face heat up tremendously.

Rouge hated her.

Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated.

You could even say she despised of her.

Not for the obvious crush, she didn't mind that. She decided she'd tease her a bit. But she felt herself hating her for being so _hyperactive, annoying, talkative,_ and so unbearably _honest._

She was talking to one of her closest friend's girlfriends, and she was _flirting._ She found it infuriating. 

Not because she cared for the Echidna, of course. Not at all..

"Oh, shucks.. Same to you!" The blush on the young girl's face was sickening to look at. She would much rather look at _anyone_ else right now- _Besides_ the Shadow of this world. He was an edgy pain.

"I thank you, Mrs. Rose. Please let me buy this for you. I look forward to seeing you in it." She winked and walked off to the cash register, rolling her eyes to herself as she heard the girl squeal in excitement.

After she'd bought the dress, she discovered Amy had bought something for her, too.

Well, something for the both of them.

Friendship bracelets.

Shadow skated through the deep forest, making his way to the beautiful spot he'd set up Rouge and Knuckles' date. Maybe he wished Sonic was there, maybe he didn't. But he felt annoyed when he found that aggravating, suspicious badger instead.

He stopped as he watched her play with a little robotic dog, looking upset. He stepped forward, feeling it was necessary to ask what the problem was, but before he could get the chance, the dog began barking loudly, turning to him with an angry glare in it's mechanical eyes. Sticks barely spared him a glance, before looking back to the dog and cuddling it close, looking as though she were about to cry. He winced, and skated off.

He walked through the town, satisfied as Mobians scattered off to the side and looked away as he passed through.

God, he was so lonely.

He hated this.

Shadow turned to step into an antique shop before he felt a hand on his shoulder pull him back. He snapped his head to look at them, ready to battle, but found himself confused as Perci, appointed protector of the island _despite_ never helping out Sonic and the gang, looking at him suspiciously.

"What are you doing around here?" She asked, a soft frown placed upon her face. Shadow sighed irritably, rubbing his eyes. "I came to see if I could buy anything here." He sighed yet again at her even more suspicious expression. " _Yes,_ I have Mobiums to spend." She nodded in satisfaction, turning to continue doing whatever she had been doing, He walked into the store, looking at the first rack of glass dolls he saw. He tensed as he felt the other customers eyes on him.

His past was somewhat of an enigma to him- he wasn't really sure what had happened, in all honesty, but he knew he was created, that he was the Ultimate Lifeform, and that he for some reason had a feud with a blue hedgehog... And that was about it. The only information he remembered as he found himself mysteriously dropped off on the edge of the island.

He picked out the doll of a human, the only human one left out of the few he had remembered being there since his last visit, and it was the one he always found himself eyeing. The girl with pale skin, a blue shirt and skirt, blonde hair, and blue headband. He decided he'd buy it.

As Shadow walked to the cashier to pay, he felt himself become disappointed as said cashier jumped in fear and covered his face. "Take anything you want! Please, just don't hurt me!"

The dark hedgehog sighed quietly, placing the doll down, and the required amount of Mobiums along with it. The worker eventually peaked an eye open, and chuckled nervously, putting the money in the register and handing Shadow the doll. Shadow silently took it and walked out, ignoring the Mobians' stares trained on him.

He held the doll in his hands as he walked back to his cave, studying it. It was very beautiful, and there was a familiar, nostalgic, yet sad feeling he couldn't shake.

"Whatcha got there, Shadow?" _Great._

He turned to see Sonic walking toward him with a new-looking bandanna, and a hop in his step. Shadow let out a growl, though he was feeling quite content. "What is it, hedgehog?"

"Oh, well, I was wondering if you'd said anything to Knuckles, cuti- I mean, buddy." Shadow's eyes widened, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Did Sonic really almost-?

He brushed it off, and tried not to let it go to his head and get too excited. "I've never even talked to him." Shadow muttered, beginning to walk away. He smirked to himself as Sonic followed close behind.

"Shadow, Rouge said Knuckles thought me and the team were trying to break them up." He frowned a little, and Shadow hated it, "Smile." Fuck, wait, did he say that aloud?

Sonic looked confused, but smiled anyway, seeming slightly smitten. He stepped forward to walk beside Shadow, chuckling a bit. "Well, I smiled for 'ya, Romeo. You ready to tell me what the heck's goin' on'?" Shadow looked down, rolling his eyes with a faint smile. "I actually am unsure, That is very peculiar. He doesn't seem very smart though, so maybe it was a misunderstanding. Have Rouge talk to him about it." He looked over to see Sonic falter at the lack of information. "I apologise, Sonic." The blue hedgehog only chuckled, patting him on the back. "It's okay, bro. Hope I see 'ya soon!"

"You d-?"

And just like that, he was gone.


	4. Picnicing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short, sucky chapter because I just want to put the next one out already.

Rouge hummed as she sipped from her bottle, which was filled with beer.

She wondered if GUN noticed she'd been sneaking back to their dimension to get beer and such. This world's Shadow's already questioned it, which must mean there wasn't any around here.

She tapped the counter she leaned against, waiting for Amy to finish changing in her room. She was going to a picnic with the gang, and, hey,Shadow also may be attending.

She wore a black dress with with boots, which had higher heels than she usually wore. She wore shorter gloves than usual, with the friendship bracelet the pink girl had bought for her over the cuff of her glove. She had a black belt with a heart-shaped middle, her hair done nicely. She hummed to herself as she took another sip of her beer. The pink girl finally emerged from her room as Rouge looked over.

Ugh. She really hated that girl.

Amy giggled. She was wearing the dress Rouge had bought for her back when they went shopping. She couldn't deny it looked pretty on her.

"Looks cute, Amy." She said with a wink, though she resisted an eye roll at the Hedgehog's blush. "Thanks, Rouge! You look beautiful in that dress! But, you always look beautiful!" She exclaimed, winking back, though she was obviously very flustered and nervous. Rouge tossed her bottle of beer in the trash, though Amy barely seemed to register it was there as she gazed at the Bat. Rouge sighed, stepping forward to take Amy's hand. "Shall we go now? The others are waiting, and I might have been able to encourage Shadow to come along." She sang out. Amy giggled. "It's so obvious the way he looks at Big Blue, hm?~" Rouge cooed, leading Amy out of the house, who blinked and turned to her.

"What? Are you implying that Shadow likes Sonic, or something?" Amy raised a brow, as Rouge nodded, looking to her and caressing her hand softly. "It's adorable, isn't it?" She chuckled, before she lifted the slightly taller girl up, who squeaked. "Wha-?" Rouge hovered off the ground as she flapped her wings- jeez, why did this girl way that much? Well, these Mobians were different than most other Zones' Mobians. She poked Amy's nose, flying off toward the picnic spot, as Amy held onto her neck, flustered.

Sonic was confused as to why Shadow was watching them set up their picnic, and why his eyes were on _him_ specifically. He felt a bit self-conscious because of it. After a minute of nobody addressing it, nobody meaning Knuckles, Sticks, and Tails, he turned around to meet the dark Hedgehog's gaze, who blinked slightly. 

"Heya, Shadow, need somethin'?" He smirked a bit, crossing his arms as he shifted his wait onto his right leg. Shadow 'pssh'ed, looking to the ground. "Rouge invited me to your pathetic picnic. And I showed up." He grumbled, walking closer to where the heroes were setting out the plates of food. They were in the middle of a field, and it was actually a beautiful spot.

Sonic was excited to have him there, and so he playfully punched the dark anti-hero's arm. "Glad you came! I'm sure you'll have fun with us." He winked, and raised a brow at Shadow's slightly reddened cheeks. He couldn't deny his probably looked similar.

"Yeah, whatever." Shadow grumbled, looking up as he noticed Rouge flying down with that pink Hedgehog in her arms. As she landed, she set Amy down, who, oddly enough, was blushing. He narrowed her eyes at her, turning to look at Sonic, keeping his gaze steady as he realized Sonic was staring at him already. He gulped.

"Knuxie!~" Rouge exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the tall Echidna's arm and kissing his cheek. He smiled dumbly as he kissed her cheek back, chuckling. "I got extra salt for the fries, just for you!" Knuckles exclaimed, and Rouge's smile was lop-sided. "How sweet of you~" She caressed his cheek, and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Amy's jealous glare was trained on them.

After they all began to eat, and engage in friendly conversation, Sticks was the only one who seemed to hear that odd sound. 

It sounded almost like a warping sound. She raised a brow, whipping her head from side to side. Nobody payed much attention to her, besides Tails, who raised a brow. "What is it, Sticks?" He asked, tilting his head. The girl had a suspicious look on her face.

".. I'll be right back, I think I'm hearing alien cargo ships!" She jumped up, running off as she heard the sound a second time. Tails jumped up to run after her, but Sonic only grabbed his arm. 

"She probably heard an owl or something." Sonic shrugged his shoulders, and Tails nodded in an unsure manner. He hesitantly sat back down besides Knuckles, who was busy feeding his girlfriend. Amy sat on the other side of Rouge, sighing as she ate, wishing it was her feeding the girl, and holding her in her arms. She huffed. Sonic and Shadow sat by each other, with Sonic trying to shove food in Shadow's mouth in some sort of game. When he actually got a small, amused smile out of Shadow, his ears perked up a bit, he tried even harder- before eventually being tackled by the growling ebony. He laughed.

Sticks ran through the field, glancing around as she dropped to all fours. She held her boomerang in her hand, growling lowly, before seeing what looked like an alien portal trying to open. She gasped, running over to it. "Oh no you don't, alien overlords! You can't invade today!" She swung her boomerang at the portal attempting to fully materialize, hitting _something_ and causing the portal to close. She panted, staying there a second more, before she ran behind a bush to watch if anything would happen again. Sure enough, after a minute, the portal attempted to materialize again. She narrowed her eyes, ready to pounce on whatever popped out. Eventually, a large ring-looking thing appeared, and a green Hedgehog stepped through, looking around cautiously, as he rubbed his cheek as if he'd been hit there. She growled under her breath, before jumping out of the bush.

"I knew you aliens would come soon!" She shouted, running at the jacket-wearing alien and swinging her boomerang at him. His eyes shot wide open, before he dashed off to the side, sending her stumbling from the sudden speed. She gasped, looking over to him. "What?! Yous' can go as fast as Sonic!" She clenched her fists. "I dunno what kinda shape-shifting super-speeding alien demon you are, but I won't let you take over the world!" She shouted, throwing her boomerang at him. He sighed, grabbing it, and running over to her at sonic speed. She flinched, turning to kick him, "Hya!- AAH!" He grabbed her by the leg and flipped her upside down, throwing her off to the side. "Get outta my way, toots, I gots shit to do." he rolled his eyes, dashing off after kicking her head against the ground. She groaned in pain, rubbing her head as she slowly moved to sit up. She huffed. "I'll get you, alien scum..."

Sonic laughed as he and Shadow wrestled on the ground, the picnic near over. Shadow threw a punch at his gut, but the other countered it with a punch to his chest. Shadow smirked slightly, actually having.. Fun, for once. Rouge watched out of the corner of her eye as she sat in the sleeping Knuckles' lap, talking to the jealous Amy.

Shadow grunted as Sonic flipped him over. "Got 'ya down, faker!" Sonic exclaimed, having the ebony successfully pinned by his arms. Shadow's small smirk widened only slightly. "Is that so?" He went to kick, but Sonic was sitting on his legs- and he didn't want to _actually_ hurt the blue blur. He huffed out of his nose, chuckling lowly. Sonic's ear flicked at the unfamiliar sound- Shadow's laugh was really nice, he decided.

Rouge saw their antics, and thought her next, unpredictable move may be able to motivate one or the other.

He looked back toward Rouge- to see she was- Wh- what?

... She was kissing Amy. 

Sonic watched for a moment with wide eyes, but wasn't sure exactly what to think, especially when noticing how Rouge... Didn't look to be enjoying it.

He glanced back toward Shadow, who was looking the opposite direction. 

Sonic looked back toward the girls, then back to Shadow.

... He better now, or he never will. You could say seeing the other two kissing sort of gave him hope- they were a bit odd to be kissing. It would be a bit odd for him and Shadow to kiss, too... But, he wished they could.

He swallowed his pride, sighing lowly as he prepared to do something that could possibly get him killed on the spot.

"You should laugh more, Shadz." Sonic said with a wide smile, tilting his head slightly as he gazed at the other. Shadow scoffed slightly, gazing back as his anxiety picked up. "... So should you." He uttered lowly. Sonic leaned down slightly, a bit closer to the other's face as his eyelids drooped slightly. "Eh, I think I laugh enough, Faker. Your laugh is really nice." He caressed the dark-furred Hedgehog's muzzle, who's eyes went wide at what was now flirting. He felt his muzzle turn a light shade of pink. "You could still laugh more, buffoon. I think you should. It's... Nice." He bit the inside of his cheek, resisting the urge to get up and run away. He didn't know where he found it in him to flirt with the other, but he'd regret it later. Shadow could feel Sonic's breath against his lips, and so, he turned his head to the side, looking away from the azure. "Really?" Said Hedgehog asked quietly, moving Shadow's head so he could meet his eyes again, hands at the sides of his muzzle.

Shadow's breath hitched as he nodded.

Sonic smirked widely, his muzzle burning with blush. Sonic's eyes fluttered closed, and Shadow gulped as he realized the other male was leaning in for a kiss. He didn't know whether to react or not- Sonic was probably joking around right now. Right before their lips met, Sticks came running over, screaming. Sonic flinched and sat straight up in a swift motion. Shadow suppressed a growl, shoving Sonic off of him and punching him in the gut, which lead the other to double over on his knees with an 'oof!' and hold his stomach in pain. Shadow skated off faster than the others knew he could even go, leaving Sonic to pant to himself in pain as Sticks screamed about some sort of green alien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this oh my god


	5. "Ditching"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, Rouge didn't get to tell Sonic about the "blind" date, she didn't get a chance to because- you'll see. But, Shadow thought he knew lmao. This might be a bit confusing, because things are being explained very vaguely.

The Bat held her water bottle close to her as she strutted through the dark forest, lowering her pink shades which were embroidered with lovely diamonds on the sides, and glanced around.

She'd been in this dimension for, what, a month now? Yet, she still couldn't find _it._

She knew they wouldn't be happy with her.

As she stepped through the dirt, she heard the faint sound of rapid footsteps nearing her- someone was running at her, at sonic speed.

She narrowed her eyes, and looked back, half expecting to see the Sonic of _this_ universe (of who she needed to talk to anyway), or _the_ Sonic.

But, instead, she was met with that green prick.

He smirked, his head lazily falling to the side as he skid to a stop a few feet behind the Bat. His smirk was lopsided as he lowered his shades, eyes narrowing in somewhat of a smug look. His jacket was snug against his frame, as he rested a hand on his hip.

She turned around, facing him with a distasteful expression.

He winked. "Been a while, doll! And 'ya look even hotter than I rememba'!"

"Scourge." She greeted, her tone anything but cheery. "What brings you here? Did GUN pick you up as a forced replacement?" She said with a sarcastic tone, although she wouldn't doubt that outcome.

Said King took off his glasses, shining the lenses with the cuffs of one of his gloves. His smirk widened, pushing his glasses back against his eyes.

She froze momentarily.

"They did, didn't they?" She huffed, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight to her left leg.

"'You gots it, toots!" He cackled a bit, baring his fangs in a wide grin. "Time 'fer 'ya 'ta get back to 'ya universe, babes."

She glared, "No way in hell am I listening to you, Scourge! They have that Emerald hidden, and hidden _good!_ You won't find it any sooner than I would have." She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she tilted her head up in superiority. Scourge 'pssh'ed. "Already took you over two months, dolly! Get 'ya ass back, 'm in 'fer this mission!"

Rouge scrunched up her face angrily. "Why do you care so much?" She searched his face for something, anything.

But all she saw was a cocky motherfucker.

"Eh, that's my business, and mine alone, dollface." Grabbing a Warp Ring from who knows where and throwing it, he winked. "Go on, bunny! Hop!" He cackled to himself, as Rouge looked at him unamused.

"Funny how you think you have any sort of authority over me." Rouge said with an annoyed eye roll, tilting her head down slightly. "What? Not like 'ya got anythin' 'ta do here anyway." He said mockingly. He sounded like he knew something. Maybe, some _things._ She raised her brows in confusion. Fuck him, she did have things to do! She had to tell the Sonic here about his blind date with Shadow, and that it was set up for six o' clock! Not like she gave a crap if they actually got together, but a Bat keeps her word! She also had a few dates with the Echidna, as well as shopping to do with Pink, and blueprints to look at with Tails-

She blinked momentarily.

A bit aggravated she began to care about the little things, she grit her teeth, confused at her own feelings. 

"You're up to something, and I'm going to figure out what it is!" She clenched her fists at her sides. He chuckled, dashing around in a green flash to wrap an arm around her waist. She flinched, backing up quickly and turning toward him. "Get your hands off of me before I kick you into the sun, pervert." She scoffed, before flying up, and aiming at him quickly in a spinning kick.

He was already a step ahead, dashing right toward her as she went down at him, grabbing onto her leg and tossing her through the portal the Warp Ring created. She yelped in surprise as she remembered his speed.

The Warp Ring closed, and the green Hedgehog chuckled lowly, rubbing his hands together mischievously.

"Bye bye, bratty batty!"

The gang lay on the beach atop of their towels, (which Rouge had bought for them), sipping their drinks, while Sticks made an, "alien overlord Xemug," as she called, it in the sand.

Sonic hummed to himself, turning to the Echidna beside him. "Hey buddy, what's up? You've been silent pretty much the whole time! Somethin' bothering you?" He crossed his arms behind his head.

Knuckles looked to him, and Sonic figured he probably still thought the group didn't want him and Rouge together. He wondered where Knuckles got that idea anyway...

Knuckles looked unsure, but smiled a bit. "I'm fine, Sonic." Was all he said- not even a dumb "punchline" met with a fist across the face or anything. He blinked a bit, turning back to stare at the sky, and close his eyes.

Well, his eyes were closed for a moment, before he heard a whistle- a cat-calling kind of whistle.

"Well, fuck me in a tutu! Blue's really got a figure here!" A cackle.

Sonic's eyes flew open, sitting up slightly at the sight of some green Hedgehog standing in front of him. He was smirking with his eyes narrowed in something akin to a flirtatious look, his red sunglasses lowered by a gloved hand. His jacket wasn't too tight on him, but Sonic could guess his figure. There were flames on the shoulders, as well as weird buckle things that hung off of it, looking like a belt or something. He raised a brow as the blue-eyed Hedgehog's smirk widened further, a hand moving to his hip. Everyone's attention was turned to the stranger.

"... What?" He asked after a moment, narrowing his eyes in confusion as he blinked. Amy scooted over a bit, being on the other side of Knuckles. Knuckles only smiled and waved to the Hedgehog, who raised a brow at him, a look of misplaced recognition in his eyes.

He turned back to Sonic, tilting his head. "What's poppin, hottie? Got room 'fer one more?" He winked, his ear flicking at Tails' quiet cough.

Sticks huffed as she looked at him, before looking back to her sand alien- it was ruined. What happened to it? As she looked back to the new guy, he smirked evilly at her from the corner of his eye. She growled lowly.

Sonic looked to the side, before looking back toward him. This guy will just openly flirt with other guys, yet he was too afraid himself?. ".. Are you uh, talking to me, man?" He chuckled awkwardly, tugging on his bandanna. The other tapped his foot against the ground. "'Course I am, Blue! Who else would I be talkin' to?" He said as if it were obvious, tapping the side of his own head. Sonic thought for a moment, before sighing and glancing away. ".. Sure, why not." He shrugged, glancing back toward his team who were looking at him a bit unsure, possibly intimidated by the newbie's predatory stare, and sharp teeth.

He sat beside Sonic, who closed his eyes again.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Tails asked, smiling anxiously as the guy had a soft, yet angry look at him. It was.. Confusing, like he was almost fond of him, yet hated him? But, wait, that didn't make sense, he didn't know this guy, they've never met-

"The name's Scourge, Scourge the Hedgehog, King of Anti-Mobius." He winked, sticking his tongue out at the Fox- who's eyes widened in realization. Wait, so that's where he recognized him from-?

"Oh, well, haha, it's great to meet you, Scourge! I'm Tails!" He waved a bit. He was extremely confused now, only having remembered a children's tale about an evil king, who ruled "Moebius," the _fictional_ world that was supposedly an Anti to Mobius. Was this guy joking around or something? 

"What a lovely name!" Amy exclaimed, sounding sort of forced. "I'm Amy, and that's Knuckles, Sticks, and Sonic." Her smile was strained.

Scourge nodded, but Tails had the feeling he already knew by the uninterested look. He turned to look at Sonic, eyes running over his body in a way that made his friends uncomfortable from just watching it happen. Sticks jumped up, pointing at him. "You're an alien! The king of Anti-Mobius isn't real! You're an alien, an alien transformed into him-!" "Sticks, enough!" Amy got up and grabbed Stick's by the arm, pulling her away. "What did I say about accusing new people of being aliens?!" Scourge smirked and watched as they left, before turning back. "What a nutcase." He muttered, chuckling to himself. Knuckles nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she's like that. Pretty dumb, huh?" He said, and knowing how he was, Tails deemed it bold of him to say that. ".. Uh-huh." He said sarcastically. The Echidna stood, stretching. "Anyway, I've got to go look for Rouge, since _some_ people don't want me to be with her!" He said in a defensive manner, walking away. Tails reached out his arm, ready to shout a, "Knuckles, wait!" but he knew it wouldn't do much for him to do so. He only sighed, and tried to ignore Scourge's weird stare.

The Ultimate Lifeform hummed to himself as he painted the artificial flower. He was lovely at painting, yet, doing the activity reminded him of something sad, like a memory he didn't know he had. He glanced back toward the porcelain doll he'd bought- the one with the blue outfit and pale skin. He felt sort of.. At peace with it.

He wanted to talk to the Blue Blur, and _really_ talk to him. Dipping the brush back in the blue paint, he brushed it against the artificial flower petals, biting his lip.

Rouge had told him the "blind" date for him and aforementioned blue hero was set up today around six, and he couldn't be more excited for something. It was apparently going to be at Meh Burger, in that new VIP Section they added. He felt his heart beating in his chest faster than it normally would, and it would concern him if he didn't know why.

Ugh. Why did he have to fall for his enemy of all people? He bets Sonic'll leave as soon as he realizes it's him. He stopped painting for a moment, before resuming to apply the blue paint on the flower.

It looked gorgeous already, with a shiny blue stem, and light blue pedals that faded into the dark stem, clouds and various designs covering the pedals and the fake leaves.

He was, maybe, proud of himself.

When he finally finished, he smiled to himself, just slightly. He hoped Sonic would like it, really.

.. Or would that moment they had the day before make it awkward? He grimaced.

Glancing at his clock, and seeing it was 4:09, he wondered where Rouge disappeared off to- although that curiosity was overshadowed by his excitement for the date.

He set the flower to the side to dry, moving to sit in his love seat.

He had some respect for that Bat.

The blue Hedgehog bit his lip awkwardly as he looked away from the male at his side, who had his clothed arm wrapped around a blue waist, caressing his side. Some of the townsfolk stared, others just tried to ignore it- but very few did the latter. He wished the guy would just let go of him- he'd been flirting non-stop since they'd met, and been really, really handsy- he thinks he'd die if Shadow saw them like this.

Sonic sighed through his nose, turning back toward Scourge. "Look, man, you gotta let go of me." He said lowly, as Scourge only pulled him closer. The blue hero huffed. "Baby Cakes, what's the prob'm?" Scourge mumbled into his ear, which did cause him to shiver. He hadn't met another male who was so open to liking other guys in _forever,_ yet the one he did meet, had to be a weirdo. Sure, a _handsome_ weirdo, but still a weirdo nonetheless. He opened his mouth to tell the guy to get off, but his muzzle flushed when he felt kisses being pressed against his cheek. He flinched, his mouth shutting quickly. He gulped, looking away.

Scourge smirked deviously. He thought this would be harder.

Edgy the Hedgy stepped up to the restaurant, glancing around. He was surprised Rouge hadn't bothered him again today, but he wasn't necessarily complaining.

Before he'd arrived here, it was about 5:56. He figured Sonic could bother to wait.

Shadow watched as Dave the Intern walked up to him, somewhere between surprised to see Shadow, and uncaring. He blinked a bit, before leading Shadow around the back with a sigh. "Right this way, Mr. The Hedgehog." He grumbled, his voice high pitched as he was going through puberty. His voice cracked, but that was normal for him. Shadow was slightly surprised to see Sonic wasn't there already- if he would even show up at all. He furrowed his brows, rubbing the stem of the flower he held. He scooted back into the booth of the little dining area he sat, int he table he was lead to. "I'll be here to take your order when your date shows up, or whatever." Dave said with an unmotivated sigh, walking away as he threw two menus on the table. Shadow snarled at the back of his head, before turning back to open the menu and looked through it.

He could probably get some chicken or something, but a lot of the options looked gross.

After around fifteen minutes went by, he was getting anxious. His ear twitched at nearly any sound now, getting increasingly anxious the other male wouldn't show at all.

After twenty, Dave had taken his order and grabbed the menus. Shadow was getting really disappointed. Did Rouge not tell him or something? Sonic didn't seem like the type to ditch on something like this.

After he'd already long past gotten his food, he was practically fuming. He stood, glaring at nothing as he shoved his plate of cheap chicken on the ground, growling lowly as he stormed out, ignoring Dave's annoyed sigh, and his shout of, "you have to pay for that!"

Shadow clenched his fists tightly, somewhere between sad and angry. He doesn't know why he set any expectations.

He didn't have the energy to skate back to his cave, it was dark, and he figured he could just walk back without many other Mobians being out.

He huffed to himself, slowly moving his arms up to hug himself loosely, his eyes downcast.

As he walked, his ear flicked at the sound of a low- something akin to a moan, but not exactly lewd? He furrowed his brows- especially because it sounded like Sonic, in a way. He blinked, walking toward the sound as he bit into his lip harshly. Was he with that pink girl, actually? He thought she seemed like a lesbian, or something. He wouldn't doubt either way.

He turned to look at the side of a building, eyes shooting wide open as he spotted Sonic with another Hedgehog in some kind of leather jacket and sunglasses. His vision at night was better than most Mobians, but even he couldn't really make out the two very well- but, that might have been because tears were pricking at his eyes and filling his vision.

Yeesh.

After a minute, he swallowed the lump in his throat as he finally took in the fact that Sonic, the Sonic _he_ was supposed to have a date with, was making out with some- with some-

He huffed, aloud, accidentally. Sonic's ear flicked, as his eyes shot open, looking over to see Shadow, _the_ Shadow the Hedgehog, the guy _he_ liked, watching him and Scourge, with tears running down his muzzle. He blinked, before pushing Scourge away as Shadow turned and sped off. Sonic sputtered nonsense, dashing after him. Scourge smirked as he watched. 

"Damn. This shit's easy as fuck!" He cackled, before smirking wider and dashing away to somewhere unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scourge's personality and speech pattern in this is inspired by my good friend on Instagram, GlistenjngKingOfMoebius. His chaotic bisexual Scourge is pretty funny imo


End file.
